Manama, BAHRAIN – Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain’s Fire and Emergency Services Department (FESD) was awarded the Commander, Naval Installations Command (CNIC)’s Department of the Navy 2020 Small Fire Department of the Year during an awards ceremony on board NSA Bahrain March 17.
NSA Bahrain’s Fire Chief Shannon Orndorff was also recognized as CNIC’s 2020 Navy Fire Chief of the Year at the ceremony. Chief Orndorff was selected amongst all the other Navy Fire Chiefs based on his accomplishments, job performance, technical competence, leadership ability, program development and other criteria.
“Your proven excellence has led to your recognition Navy-wide, across all 70 Navy installations around the world,” said Capt. Greg Smith, commanding officer, NSA Bahrain. “This is a huge deal, not just for FESD, but for our entire community and one of my biggest points of pride for us at NSA Bahrain — I couldn’t be more proud.”
NSA Bahrain’s FESD and Chief Orndorff were nominated for these awards by Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central (CNREURAFCENT).
In addition, Assistant Chief Travis Wondrash was awarded the EURAFCENT 2020 Inspector of the Year for his outstanding contributions to Fire Prevention. CNIC and CNREURAFCENT annually award high-performing fire departments and firefighters for demonstrated excellence and commitment. This marks the third consecutive year that NSA Bahrain’s FESD has been recognized as CNREURAFCENT’s Small Fire Department of the Year.
“I am honored to serve you, and humbled by your hard work, your achievements and being recognized again for the 2020 Small Fire Department of the year,” said Smith. “This is a true testament to the amazing work from this team day-in and day-out.”
The annual award ceremony also recognized department personnel and commemorated their achievements with multiple departmental and individual awards, and the promotion of six Bahrain Grade (BG) firefighters.
Orndorff expressed gratitude for his team’s awards and lauded his firefighters for achieving these milestones.
“Even without this table full of awards behind me, this organization is truly something special and I am humbled and honored to serve alongside each and every one of you. I love this installation, I love the colleagues I interact with every day, and l love this fire department.”
The FESD team has a critical role as first responders on board NSA Bahrain, ensuring the safety of personnel, equipment, facilities and assets on board the installation by responding to emergency incidents such as fire, rescue, shipboard, hazardous materials, and medical events.
“Regardless of the situation, we always work together to overcome challenges and obstacles and to put it quite simply… we always get the job done,” said Orndorff.
According to Orndorff, teamwork plays an integral role in FESD’s success and was instrumental in earning these accolades.
“We’ve been able to accomplish things here (with respect to our host nation firefighters) that not many OCONUS installation fire departments have been able to do,” said Orndorff. “The work these guys have put into transitioning from a group of new recruits a little over a decade ago to now being company officers and battalion chiefs is phenomenal.”
For many of NSA Bahrain’s firefighters, the Small Fire Department of the Year award is symbolic of the hard work and sacrifices made by FESD’s personnel in the performance of their duties. In addition, it represents the meaningful contribution that each member of the team makes.
Following CNIC’s announcement, NSA Bahrain’s fire department will now compete for the Small Fire Department of the Year at the Department of Defense level.
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 03.29.2021 08:04 |
| Story ID: | 392458 |
| Location: | MANAMA, BH |
| Web Views: | 276 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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